Retail SIP Inflows Jump 15% in Feb Despite Market Volatility: Report

The SIP inflows in February 2026 grew to Rs 29,845 crore from Rs 25,999 crore in the previous years, while on a month‑on‑month basis, contributions fell 3.73 per cent from Rs 31,002 crore in January 2026, the report from ICRA Analytics said.

The ratings agency highlighted that the number of contributing SIP accounts stood at 9.44 crore, up from 8.26 crore a year earlier, while total outstanding SIP accounts grew to 10.45 crore from 10.17 crore.

Assets under management under SIP schemes stood at Rs. 16.64 lakh crore, representing about 20.29 per cent of the industry's total AUM, though slightly lower due to mark‑to‑market corrections rather than a decline in investor interest, the report added.

"Retail investors in India have been showing a rapidly growing appetite for mutual funds, driven by structural, behavioural, and economic shifts that have strengthened over the past few years," the report said.

Multiple industry reports and regulatory data points confirm that mutual funds, especially equity‑oriented schemes and SIPs, have emerged as a preferred long‑term savings vehicle, the firm noted.

On a yearly basis, SIP inflows in January 2026 had risen 17 per cent to Rs 31,000 crore, compared with Rs 26,400 crore in January 2025, AMFI data showed earlier this month.

Meanwhile, the mutual fund industry recorded a net inflow of Rs 94,530 crore in February, supported by strong investor interest in equity funds, debt schemes and passive products, the AMFI data showed.

The industry's total assets under management (AUM) stood at Rs 82.03 lakh crore at the end of February, while the average AUM for the month was Rs 83.43 lakh crore.

Equity-oriented schemes continued to see strong investor participation with net inflows of Rs 25,978 crore during the month.

Among equity categories, flexi-cap funds led inflows with Rs 6,924.65 crore, followed by mid-cap funds with Rs 4,003 crore and small-cap funds with Rs 3,881 crore.

- IANS